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Overall Premise
This book tells a story set in present day New York of a young man named Mangus Chase who finds himself involved in Norse mythology. With his friends Samirah Al-abbas the ex-Valkyrie, Blitzen the dwarf, and Hearthstone the elf, Magnus must delay the Day of Doom by stopping Fenrir the Wolf from escaping his bindings. I chose this book because I have been a big fan of Rick Riordan since elementary school, and Norse mythology was something I didn't know a lot about. -
Event 1 -- Uncle Randolph
At the start of the book, Magnus is introduced as a 16 year old boy who is homeless along with his friends, Blitz and Hearth. However, the peace is broken when Magnus meets with his Uncle Randolph. He tells Magnus of a Sword of Summer, which Magnus obtains soon after. Suddenly, the god Surt finds Magnus, wanting the sword for himself. Magnus successfully keeps the sword from Surt, dying in the process. Thinking: It surprised me the Magnus died-- that doesn't often happen in the first chapter! -
Event 2 -- Valhalla
As Magnus dies, he is "collected" by Samirah Al-abbas, a Valkyrie with the job of retrieving brave souls from death in order to reward them in the afterlife. Magnus finds himself in a place called Valhalla, structured similarly to a hotel. In Valhalla, Magnus meets other people who have died either recently or long ago. Some have been there for hundreds of years. Thinking: It would be neat to meet people who were alive so long ago. -
Event 3 -- Strange Feast
Later that day, Magnus meets Samirah Al-abbas, his Valkyrie. She gives him a tour of the building and later brings him to a feast in which each newcomer to Valhalla's stories are told through video. However, when Magnus' video plays, it appears to have been edited by another Valkyrie, Gunilla. Because Magnus is not holding his weapon when he died in the video, Samirah is kicked from the Valkyries. Thinking: As I read this part, I was wondering if Sam would be an important character later. -
Event 4 -- Who to Trust?
The next morning, Gunilla takes Magnus on a tour through Valhalla. She brings him to a balcony where she proceeds to tell him that Sam is a daughter of Loki, an evil god. Gunilla tells Magnus not to trust Sam. Later that day, Magnus decides that he needs to go back to earth in order to delay the Day of Doom. Joining him is Blitzen, who turns out to be a dwarf, and Hearthstone, who in fact is an elf. Thinking: Even I was confused because I liked Sam. I didn't want to believe she was a bad person. -
Event 5 -- Samirah and the Eagle
While Magnus is looking for his sword, he comes across Sam, who tells him that she is not on the bad side. She wants to delay the Day of Doom, too. They decide to go to a food court to talk things over. While they are there, an eagle tells Magnus to bring him an apple of life. The eagle says that the sword can be found in the same place as the apple-- with the sea goddess, Ran. Thinking: Almost all of Riordan's books have long strings of quests. I was expecting one thing to lead to another! -
Event 6 -- The Goddess Ran
In order to find Ran, Magnus needs to attract her attention. He does this by fishing for the World Serphent. Ran soon arrives at the scene. She ends up getting tricked by him out of her apple of life and the sword. Finally, Magnus returns to the eagle, who eats the apple. Now Blitz, Sam, Hearth, and Magnus need to travel to the land of Thor, who might know important information. Thinking: This was my favorite part of the book because I thought Magnus and Ran's dialogue was humorous. -
Event 7 -- Freya's Deal
Instead of arriving at Thor's, Magnus and Blitzen get separated from Hearthstone and Sam at the World Tree and the former two find themselves in the goddess Freya's land. Freya wants to help them with their quest to find a rope to keep Fenrir from breaking free. She will do it if they commission her earrings from the dwarf world, where the rope can also be found. Blitzen and Magnus go, where they reunite with the other two. Thinking: The dialogue in this part wasn't half as funny without Sam! -
Event 8 -- Blitzen's Battle
The four come across an old rival of Blitzen, a skilled craftsman named Junior. He says that if Blitzen can beat him in a craft-off of sorts, he will commission the earrings, but if Blitzen loses, he will be killed. Blitzen has no choice but to agree. The competition takes all day, but Blitzen wins. Junior is mad but begrudgingly makes the earrings. They now must find the island where Fenrir is to restrain him. Thinking: The author did a good job of making the battle very tense and dramatic. -
Event 9 -- Thor
They decide to go to Thor's realm because he can tell them where the island is. Thor is missing his hammer to giants, and asks them to retrieve it for him. They somehow manage to kill and retrieve Thor's weapon from the giants. Meanwhile, Magnus discovers that his sword can speak to him, and learns that the sword can do anything as long as it can return the "exhaustion" to Magnus afterwards, causing him to pass out. Thinking: I thought it was cool how the sword had a personality. It's original. -
Event 10 -- Fenrir and Surt
The four arrive at the island where they find Fenrir. However, Surt soon arrives, wanting Magnus' sword. He attempts to take it, but Magnus kills Fenrir, delaying Doom's Day. Lastly, the Sword of Summer cuts a rift through the worlds, and Surt is sucked through. Everybody has a feast to celebrate, Sam is a Valkyrie again, and it's a happy ending... or is it? Thinking: Even though it's not a truly happy ending, this book provided enough closure to make me satisfied, but also curious for book two! -
Reflection
I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anybody. I probably wouldn't watch the movie, however, becaue the Percy Jackson movies (books by the same author) were poorly made and kind of ruined Percy Jackson for me. I'm super pumped for the next book, and will surely read it when it comes out. Overall, I'm happy with this book, and my love for Rick Riordan's works has not changed!
